Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
From February 2026, GP’s and nurse practitioners in Aotearoa will be able to start medical treatments, for adults with ADHD.
It’s a move that could drastically reduce long wait times, while improving access to care. Mental health experts, say the change is a big step forward for adults in New Zealand, who are particularly vulnerable to falling through administration gaps.
Anna Elders, is a mental health nurse practitioner and a specialist in ADHD. Producer Max spoke with Anna to talk about what the change means, and why it could change the way primary care supports mental health, in Aotearoa.
Newly released data from StatsNZ, taken between 2019 and 2024, has revealed a growing crisis. Almost half of New Zealand’s monitored groundwater sites have shown contamination levels that exceed national health standards. The findings raise several concerns about the safety of New Zealand’s drinking water, particularly in rural communities.
StatsNZ's data shows particularly high levels of both, E. coli and Nitrate, both have been linked to serious health risks, with Nitrate contamination being linked to certain cancers and preterm births.
This comes just weeks after the government proposed changes that would further roll back freshwater protections.
To talk about the latest StatsNZ report, Producer Max spoke to Will Appelbe, a freshwater campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, to discuss what these figures mean and why he believes the government is putting public health at risk.
Earlier this week, the United States struck three of Iran’s nuclear sites, marking the first time that the United States had directly struck Iranian soil. Although a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was recently achieved, the monumental change in the US's approach to the fighting between Iran and Israel, leading to speculations about regional tensions that almost instantaneously affected fuel prices and the stock market.
Oto spoke with Stephen Hoadley, a retired associate professor from the University of Auckland about the US strikes on Iran and their potential impacts on fuel prices and the global economy.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon about how the government's $200 million dollar gas exploration investment fund breaches the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability, Shane Jones drafting a member's bill forcing Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement and The Greens call to the government to condemn the recent US strikes on Iran.
He spoke to retired Politics and International Relations professor at the University of Auckland Stephen Hoadley for a follow up conversation about the Iranian strikes and their potential impacts on oil prices
And he spoke to Professor of Maori Studies at the University of Auckland Margaret Mutu for another follow up conversation about Shane Jones’s Ngāpuhi settlement bill.
Max spoke with Anna Elders, a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, to discuss how GP’s and nurse practitioners will be able to start medical treatment for adults with ADHD.
And he spoke to Will Appelbe, a Freshwater Campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, to discuss the latest groundwater data published by StatsNZ.
Although sixty-five is still New Zealand’s retirement age, there has recently been an increase in over sixty-fives in the workforce, for a number of reasons.
Researchers such as Nusch Herman from the Co-Created Ageing Research Centre believe that having older adults in the workplace should be normalised.
Producer Faith spoke to Nusch about ageism, and breaking the stigma around over sixty-fives still working.
For Dear Science, our expert, Dr. Cushla McGoverin, chats with us about early human subspecies Denisovan, plants having a second set of roots, and sea spiders farming bacteria.
In our weekly catch-up with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about plans to scrap the nationwide census and concerns from statisticians around the decision.
They also spoke to Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Victoria, Dr. Lara Greaves, about how the census changes could impact Māori and issues around data sovereignty and surveillance.
Producer Faith spoke to researcher Nusch Herman from the Co-Created Ageing Research Centre about normalising having older adults in the workplace.
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the census moving forward. The changes have raised concerns around gathering data on marginalised groups and communities. Lower sample sizes and differences in the method of data collection can expose the data to biases and could lead to poor representation of marginalised and minority groups. The collection and use of administrative data also raises concerns around data sovereignty and increased state surveillance.
To discuss these concerns, Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor of Politics at Victoria University and Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Statistics at the University of Auckland, Dr. Lara Greaves. You can find more information about Te Mana Rauranga here.
With Psilocybin set to be more available for those with treatment-resistant depression comes the question of accessibility.
Currently only one specialist will be able to provide psilocybin to patients, with concerns over how much the treatment will cost.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, a Professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Auckland, about psilocybin, and what should be expected with allowing psilocybin to treat treatment-resistant depression.
The government is considering changes to the rules surrounding who can ride bikes on the sidewalk and e-scooters in the bike lane. Currently e-scooters are not allowed in the bike line, despite many riders using it, and bikes can only be ridden on the sidewalk by young children.
The government is planning to change this, allowing e-scooters in the bike line legally, and raising the age cap for bike riding on the sidewalk.
Producer Samantha spoke to Tim Jones, President of Living Streets Aotearoa regarding these proposed changes and their implications.
The Government is heading into Budget week with plans to cut the core public service, and RNZ reports public servants' fears that their jobs are once again on the line. At the same time, questions have been raised over MFAT being spared from cuts, and the Government has unveiled major changes to secondary education through its proposed NCEA replacement.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about public service cuts, Budget priorities, and what the education overhaul could mean for students and teachers.
Crypto investment schemes are spreading across the Pacific, often through trusted family, church, and community networks. While they are promoted as offering financial freedom and fast returns, regulators have warned that some schemes carry serious risks and limited protections for investors.
Producer Pranuja spoke with Associate Dean Pacific Sione Taufa about how trust can be exploited in Pacific communities, why endorsement matters, and what people should know before investing.
A survey of Automobile Association members' views on time-of-use charging has been presented to the Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee.
The survey found that members were open to congestion charging if it worked, even if they thought it was unfair.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins gave a ‘State of Auckland’ speech last week, focusing on the need for cross-party collaboration on infrastructure projects.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
This week has seen discussions on New Zealand Firsts announcement that if they win the election they plan to buy BNZ and nationalise it into kiwibank, a plan some estimate to cost $30,000,000,000 and has been completely ruled out by their coalition partner in the National Party. Despite this, it’s sparked conversations around how we should be engaging with our banking sector, the vast majority of it dominated by Australian owned banks.
And critics fear that National party changes to the accommodation supplement is going to hit poor working families at a time they’re already doing it rough, nullifying other support that they are offering the rest of the country more broadly, repeating a pattern of policies that hurt poorer communities worse than the rich.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March on what impact he thinks will come from restrictions to the accommodation supplement, particularly for the poor, they then discussed New Zealand Firsts policy to buy BNZ bank, and whether minor parties tend to over promise if they are constrained by the major parties who they will inevitably have to work with if they make into parliament.
Since 1986, the Ministry for the Environment has been the central policy advising entity in New Zealand for environmental issues. The government has recently proposed the Environment Amendment Bill, which seeks to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment, which would be amalgamated into a larger Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.
For Green World this week, Wire producer Liam spoke with Professor Nicolas Lewis, of the University of Auckland’s School of Environment, about these proposed changes, how they fit in with the government's current priorities around the environment, and the impact this may have on New Zealand in the short-term and long-term.
Last week, National MP Catherine Wedd’s members bill for an Under-16s social media ban was paused. Instead, Education Minister Erica Stanford has pledged to, before this years election, bring a wider and more robust proposal for a ban in a larger bill.
Last week also saw Prime Minister Christopher Luxon make comments about the National Party’s stance on immigration, amidst criticised changes to compliance officer powers, and previous spats and comments over immigration policy between government coalition partners.
And with the budget expected next week, promises have begun to be made by the government for where funding can be expected, particularly within education.
Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these topics, starting with the Social Media ban.
Recent weeks have seen the government adopting a series of policies targeted at immigration. Some of these policies are set to be introduced immediately, while others are proposals for the upcoming election. What all of these policies have in common is that they aim to respond to an idea that there is a subset of immigrants who are making society in New Zealand worse.
This is a narrative that we’ve seen dominate conversations about immigration overseas, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. It often leads to gross displays of racism, with mass riots and crackdowns on people who have done nothing wrong. With these recent policies and media attention towards the anti-immigrant rhetoric in Aotearoa this month, concerns have been raised over whether those overseas developments could be seen here.
For this week’s catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor planned to ask about both immigration and the move-on orders for rough sleepers, though we ran out of time to discuss both. They began by asking Simon about the government’s recent stance on immigration.
The Government has confirmed plans to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority and move toward a self-regulation model for media complaints, raising questions about accountability, misinformation, and audience protection.
It has also been confirmed that the Fees Free tertiary scheme will be scrapped in the upcoming Budget, while the new citizenship test has sparked debate over whether it strengthens civic knowledge or creates another barrier for migrants.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about these topics.
95bFM 
